Friday, November 13, 2009

Deuteronomy Chapters 25-27

25:6 - I love that God cares about an individual person's legacy...God wants that to be held up and defended. Each individual life is important to God. God cares about the impact we had on this world and the impact that our lives had on eternity, and so should we. What kind of legacy is your life leaving behind? I want to leave behind a legacy of faith - I don't want my name to be blotted out because I failed to live up to my destiny in God.

25:9-10 - Being a part of the community of God means that you always build one another up. Anyone who claims they are a part of the family of God and yet tears down his brothers and sisters should be spit on ad slapped in the face with their on shoe! I bet that would really drive the point home, if we practiced that in churches today!

25:13 - I found this interesting, because it definitely applies to us. You never honor God by living dual lives...a life where you honor God and a life where you honor yourself. As followers of God there is only room for one self...you are either in or out - there is no middle ground in faith.

26:2 - Tithing is about giving you first and your best to God, it is not about giving Him your leftover budget table scraps.

26:4-11 - I love that! They use their offering as a time to remember their story...their testimony. They aren't recounting on the monetary wealth and material things God has given, but the priceless blessings He has poured out like protection, hope, freedom from slavery, etc. How healthy would it be for Christians today if they approaches the time of offering with the same heart? Offering is a time of joy and celebration!

27:2-3 - The first thing they do upon entering into the promised land is to remember how they got there. They don't throw a party first...they commit themselves to backbreaking labor. They move huge uncut stones into a pile and plaster over them. Then they painstakingly write the commands that God has given them out on the monument. They do all this because they know essential it is that they always remember who they are. They chisel into the stones and their hearts exactly what it means to be God's people. What do you do to make sure that is always at the forefront of your mind?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ch 27. I think we should do stuff like building altars. I still remember that solo time during one of the backpacking trips where we built an altar of stone. A pile of stones to remind us of God and all he has done for us. Communion is a big part of this. We should build a hugh pile of rocks out back in the church property and write the names of God on it.

JHarvell said...

25:11-12 This is kinda funny only if its not happening to you. I'm kinda speechless to the situation, but God thought it important enough to put it in there... If two guys are fighting grab a stick, grab a sword, but don't grab the guy's junk lest your hand be cut off. Then at the end of vs. 12 "don't have pity on her either" thats harsh, but it shows the sanctity of the male parts.

26:15 in the ESV says "Look down from your holy habitation" that was a cool rhyme :D

27:8 After they got the stones, worshiped, ate, sacrificed, and rejoiced, then they were to write the words of the law plainly. I think its the "plainly" part that a lot of people get hung up on. They think God is this being that is so mysterious that you will never understand him no matter how hard you try. But here they were told to write it plainly. God wants people to know him, and to know his ways, He's not hiding from us. He wants us to seek him out, but its going to take seeking him with all of our hearts to make the difference. People may get discouraged when they don't find God in their seeking, because they are not seeking with their whole heart. God's want us to find him, but he wants us to use everything we have to do that.